Spike Lee

"Do the Right Thing"

The 1989 film Do the Right thing by Spike Lee had many key elements that contributed to the overall structure and development of the film. One of these was 'Sal's Wall' which is really the main reason why Radio Raheem was murdered by the police.

Sal is an Italian-American who runs the local Pizzeria, it is a hot spot in the town. He runs the business with his two sons, Vido (who is pro-community) and Pino (who is against the inter-racial community). Sal's wall is made up of only Italian-Americans who Sal feels paved the way for the the Italian-Americans of their time. Since Sal's Pizzeria was the local food stop and attracted much attention, when one black male starts questioning Sal about his wall it divides the two cultures straight down the middle.

Its it Sal's defensiveness and not wanting to change his wall that ultimately leads to the murder of Radio Raheem.

Sal's wall developed the movie from the very start. The film starts out with a happy feel, like its a nice community to live it, but as the film continues to develop, we see how the wall truly cause the dramatic ending.

Was Sal right, not to put up pictures of African-Americans? taking into consideration that 90% of the community were black. There is no real answer, only personal opinions. Sal was pro-community, so it would make sense that he would try and please the community by hanging up pictures of Malcolm X, or Martin Luther King Jr. On the other hand, Sal created 'Sal's Wall' to honour the Italian-Americans who he believes are great achievers. The wall was created to honour his heritage and to portray what is personal to him, not necessarily the community.

It seems Ironic that at the end of the film, Sal's wall it burnt down to the ground, and a memeber of the community puts a piuctures of Martin Luther King Jr. and malcom x. Two men who were for Black civil rights, but went about it in a very differnet manner.

Without 'Sal's Wall' there would be no conflicts between the two culturts, which is really what this film is all about.